Archives After Dark Resource Guide

Artifacts—the objects we make and use—are part of American history. If we know how to look at them, they can be sources for better understanding our history. While textbooks focus on the great documents of the American past, or the important events, artifacts can show us another kind of history, another way of approaching the past. This Web site will tell you how to look closely at artifacts and how to think about the ways they shape and reflect our history. Authors: Steven Lubar and Kathleen Kendrick.

In my last post I talked about the writer’s retreat I attended recently taught by Wild author Cheryl Strayed. I learned so much about writing stories from hearing her speak, including how to lean into subjectivity, and I plan to share as much with you as possible. Today’s Lesson from Cheryl Strayed: How to use everyday objects to imbue your stories with meaning. Author: Monica M. Clark.

Deborah was inspired to write this poem by Käthe Kollwitz's (1867–1945) lithographic 'Portrait of A Working Class Woman', 1903. The portrait is found in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

In 2002 Valerie was one of five poets commissioned by the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Poetry Book Society to create new works inspired by the British Galleries 1500–1900. Valerie's poem was inspired by a beer-jug which was made in about 1800 in Staffordshire. The motif on the jug represents Britannia offering comfort to a slave, linking a traditional patriotic symbol with the new movement for the abolition of slavery.